InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Through The Eyes Of An Innocent ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Through The Eyes Of An Innocent: Chapter Three

She rested her head against his chest, sighing contentedly as his warm arms wrapped around her body. She had just vaguely become aware of the tears that were streaming down her face as blood soaked into her pale blue cloak. She didn't know how long she had been standing there with him, the smell of blood and sulfur rising around them, wrapped in his bodily warmth

It had been cold and distant at first, his facial expression disgusted when she threw herself into his arms, but now - now he was holding her close, as though he did not wish for her to slip through his fingers.

When had he truly started to love her so much? Her blue eyes glistened as more blinding tears spilled from them, causing her ebony black hair to stick in tiny patches to her face. Her hands were clutching onto the chest plate of his armor, desperately trying to seek the warmth that came with that soft flesh that she was only too accustomed to.

He had murmured something against her hair, something that she was not able to catch, but it didn't matter. She had finally gotten him to open up to her - finally gotten him to accept her as she was. She did not know if it was simply relief or if she were truly happy, but she would have time to sort out those thoughts later. All that mattered was now.

His own blood was soaking into her elegant cloak, warming up her body in the most disturbing way. She only wished to take him back home and get his wounds treated but - she knew that he would not stand for it. She pulled away from his metal plated chest momentarily, looking up into his burgundy eyes as if searching for an answer to his sudden change in mood.

He had thought her to be disgusting, repulsive, and downright filthy, as if she were nothing more than a speck of dirt. A part of her wished that it could have remained that way. He continued to stare down at her, the hilt of his sword digging into her hipbone as he pulled her close to him once more.

It seemed as though he did not wish for her to go.

"You - you will have to die with me." His thick deep voice reached her ears, startling her out of her reverie. Her face paled considerably and she looked up at him, fear apparent in her eyes. She did not want to die.

"No, please no." She whispered, ignoring how his arms tightened forcefully around her. The air around them seemed to grow thick, smoke entering her lungs as she inhaled, the scent of blood assaulting her nostrils.

"Yes. You have to die with me. It is your duty after all." His cold chilling voice washed over her body, causing trepidation to seep into every pore of her body. She shook her head vigorously; deciding that then and now would be the only time she would be able to escape him.

She immediately jerked her body away; a hot searing sensation working it's way through her arms as she tried to fight him. Tears rolled out of her eyes as he started shouting at her, but everything seemed to turn to fuzz when it reached her ears. Her body jerked around violently, that same burning sensation soaring throughout her body, trapping her in a never-ending flame.

She screamed, watching in trepidation as he disappeared from in front of her and fire consumed her body. What - what had happened? Her skin bubbled, blistering and scarring, burning her flesh and sending a horrid scent to her nose. Tears of agony streamed down her face, causing her skin to hiss, and agony to spread its talons throughout her body.

She just wanted to get out. Now she wished that she had died with him. Death would have been so much more painless than being tortured. Now flames consumed her being, burning her clothes, her skin, her hair, and smoke filled her lungs and eyes, causing them to water greatly only to cause her more pain. She had never wanted death more than she had now.

Suddenly, something pierced through her flesh, causing her eyes to snap open and focus on what was in front of her. He was there again, watching her with sorrow filled eyes. His hands had moved away from her chest, revealing a rather large sword hilt protruding from it.

Funny - she had barely even felt it. She blinked up at him again, opening her mouth as if to say something, but instead, blood rushed from the opening, spilling down her chin and onto the front of her cloak. She lifted a hand up to her mouth, still shocked that he had stabbed her.

She could still feel the shearing pain in her chest and in her back as he shook his head silently, before placing his hand back on the hilt of the sword.

"You have to die with me." He stated simply before yanking the sword out of her chest roughly. Flecks of blood flew throughout the air, landing on his tarnished armor, sliding down it gracefully as she fell to her knees rather roughly. She could feel her hot sticky blood washing down her chest and her back, her clothing drinking it up greedily like a wanderer whom had been denied water for weeks.

She immediately placed a hand to her chest, her eyes glazing over - growing glossy as crimson seeped through her fingers, contrasting greatly with her now pale clammy skin. Sweat poured down her the sides of her face, replacing her blinding tears. Slowly, she pulled a shaky hand away from her chest and looked at it. Crimson dripped elegantly off the tips of her fingers, as he lifted his sword in the air once more, the point of it hovering over her head shortly, before bringing it down on her.

Her blood being the last thing she saw before darkness consumed her.

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Kagome's eyes snapped open taking in the darkness that surrounded her. Sweat dampened her pillows and her sheets, the air around her grossly humid. She instinctively raised a hand to her face, feeling the wet trails of tears on her face once again. She kicked the sheets off of her body, sitting up slowly. She allowed a sigh to escape her lips as she pulled her hair away from her sweaty neck, her eyes closed in deep concentration.

She had had the dream again. Ever since she had found out that she was supposed to be marrying that - vile Prince she had continued to dream about him killing her. They all started the same, her walking out into the middle of a war to aide her fallen husband, and them hugging each other tightly. Then he would say that she needed to die with him, and she would struggle.

It was always the same, except when she was tortured. First it had been ice, then she had been beaten, and now - now she had been trapped within a never-ending fire. It always changed there, but it always ended the same. He always drove his sword through her chest, and for some strange reason she survived long enough to look at the blood on her hand.

She was truly frightened. She had never dreamt of something quite like this. Most of her dreams were happy ones, her subconscious replaying all of the fantasies that she had about getting out of the castle and traveling to different lands, falling in love; all of the things that a woman should be entitled to.

But now, all she was able to dream about was her death, and he was always the one to kill her. Was that little voice inside her head that controlled all of her actions attempting to tell her something? If so it was a very cryptic message. Besides, why would her husband to be wish to kill her?

She was a holy person, as was he, so there was really no reason to actually hate one another. Except for the fact that he had ignored her 7 years, but that was not what mattered. What mattered was the fact that she had started to continually have dreams, over and over again, about him killing her.

Was this what was to become of her after she was to be married to him? She sighed slightly, placing a hand to her chest before looking out her window and up at the stars. Whatever this dream was, she decided that it could wait until the morning.

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"No. No. No. Stand straight; never slouch."

"Always smile."

"Don't fidget."

"And keep your hands folded neatly in front of you - no don't fist them in your dress, clasp them in front of you. Yes - yes that's better."

Kagome let out low growl of frustration as her new advisors bustled around her, giving her orders on how to present herself in front of the entire royal court. Ever since she had been deemed a hopeless case by fainting in front of her Emperor and his son (Miroku had yet to let her live it down) one of the Emperor's late wife's advisors, and her three daughters had come and attempted to turn Kagome into a lady. However it did not seem to go as they had planned.

Each time they had a session together, Kagome would be found out in the garden, splashing around in the small pond, her hair sopping wet, her dress clinging to her, and dirt covering up her dress. She had thought that she had made it clear to everyone that she had no intention of ever becoming a lady, but the Emperor insisted that they go ahead with her training.

And it did not help matters that she was being forced into marrying a man that she felt no desire for whatsoever. It was now a nightly ritual for him to come to dinner, escorting his future wife no less, and attempting to get to know her. It was absolutely horrible.

She had remembered that they had been childhood friends once upon a time but now - now he degraded her every chance he got, he would smite her for getting dirty, and he reprimanded her for being naïve. She had expressed to him once, and only once that she had no desire to bear an heir and he immediately said he did not want to soil his body by indulging in hers, but it was the law, and if she did not withhold the law then she would be punished.

He was rude, insensitive, arrogant, and just downright nasty with her. Kagome guessed that the only thing that actually made his presence bearable was the fact that they were childhood friends and he had grown into a handsome young man, but she would rather - actually she did not know what she would have rather done instead of marrying him, but whatever it was, she knew that it would be a much better fate than marrying him.

"Or better yet, you might want to keep your hands folded neatly behind you, you have the most disgusting nails I have ever seen."

"Not to mention dirt is under them."

"What a hopeless case, she could never be a lady."

Kagome let snort of indignation yanking her hands away from one of her consultants. The three women eyed her warily before shaking their heads.

"Such a nasty attitude. And her skin is so rough. It's almost saddening." The oldest of the three advisors stated. She had short shoulder length black hair, which was almost always pulled back into a ponytail. She had light chocolate colored eyes, and a very slim figure. She looked to be an adult, if the light traces of gray in her hair were any indication.

The other two women, who looked to be a little bit older than Kagome, nodded their heads in agreement. The mother of the two children stepped in front of Kagome eying her with distaste before motioning for one of her daughter to gather up a drying cloth.

"Yuka be careful when drying her hair, she has split ends and it could fall out at any moment. Erri go fetch some clean clothes from her wardrobe, and while you are at it, tell Ayumi to fetch the seamstress. If Lady Higurashi is to be Empress she will need clothes that prove that she is. She cannot walk around in the bland dresses that she wears,"

"Yes mother." The two girls said before walking out of her chambers. Kagome merely shook her head ruefully, sighing tightly. She absolutely hated this. And what was worse, these women were actually insulting her. Weren't they supposed to just give her a personality and physical makeover and be done with it? No, instead they were ridiculing her, picking out all of her faults and blurting them out as if she wasn't even there. She could handle being made over, but she could not handle being insulted, so she decided that she would have to force them to be quiet.

"I am holy you know, and I am going to be future empress, so if you don't stop insulting me, I will see to it that you are punished very," Kagome paused for a moment trying to think of the proper word to say to the older woman," severely. So hold your tongue." Kagome smirked momentarily, crossing her arms across her chest as the older woman backed away from her and curtsied low to the ground.

"Of course Lady Higurashi, my sincerest apologies." She still had not risen when her daughters entered the room. When they all saw the woman bowing before Kagome, they all took initiative and bowed as well. Scoffing inadvertently, Kagome reluctantly allowed them to get back to work.

The seamstress immediately got to working on Kagome's measurements, clicking her tongue in distaste as she measured around her bosom. As the seamstress continued to measure around Kagome's body, the young girl named Yuka brought a drying cloth to her hair, rubbing it furiously causing stray beads of liquid to fly around the room. Erri was holding a simple yellow gown along with Kagome's undergarments, while Ayumi gathered up powder and light red lip paint along with yellow eye paint. Kagome wondered if they even knew that she was not going to keep it on for long; she never did.

After the seamstress had finished and left the room, Erri dressed Kagome (and it didn't escape Kagome's notice that she did it rather roughly). She was dried off first of course, her skin left rather pink because Yuka had decided to rub it raw; but it felt soothed after the cool fabric of her clothes touched her skin.

The eldest woman - whom Kagome still had not taken the time to learn her name - eyed her closely before pulling out a hair ribbon and tying Kagome hair up. Yuka's eyes lit up momentarily before walking back over to Kagome and pulling her hair out.

"She looks much more lovely like this. She should definitely wear her hair down for the ceremony."

"But then how will the tiara stay on her head if it's down?" Ayumi asked. Erri nodded, agreeing with her. The mother looked at Kagome carefully, before sighing in contemplation.

"Well it seems as though she does look more fair with her hair down, but it is best that it stays up. Otherwise she would look most unladylike-"

"Who honestly cares whether I look ladylike or not? It's not like I am trying to impress anyone here." Kagome huffed, finally tired of listening to them argue about her hair. The four women gaped at her, surprised at her sudden outburst. What was she honestly talking about? Of course she was trying to impress someone.

Kagome merely shook her head slowly before lightly shooing the women away from her.

"I'm leaving, don't follow me." Kagome stated before she left the room.

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Kagome sat still, fidgeting nervously under his hardening glare. She really didn't understand - she really couldn't comprehend what had made him hate her so much. She could have sworn that they spent 4 long years as friends, and now it was as if that never even happened. She honestly began to wonder if it was some sort of ludicrous dream - she and him being friends - and that she had just woken up from it.

His voice was always so cold and uninviting; sending unreal shivers up her spine every time he spoke. But if she were to be his wife, she had to get used to it. Besides it wasn't like it was really him - he was taught to act this way towards everyone or else he would be a dysfunctional ruler. And their Lands didn't need a dysfunctional ruler.

Kagome finally looked up at him, wincing as his burgundy eyes burned into hers and turned away once again. She had wanted to say something to him, but as soon as she had looked back up at him she had forgotten - which in her opinion was not a good sign. She inwardly wondered if she were going to be doing the same thing when they were being wedded.

Would she freeze halfway down the aisle if she even laid eyes on him? It was with a saddening heart that she imagined herself turning around and walking back out of the wedding hall to go and cry in her bedroom. She hated it. She hated every single moment of this entire wedding ordeal. And what was worse was the fact that her father - her own father - had arranged this marriage. Hadn't he known how cold and heartless this guy was?

It was absolutely the worse choice in a husband that her father could have ever chosen, but they were both considered holy figures so she could understand how that would reflect on her father. If he had chosen anyone less he would be ridiculed and he would most likely have his title as a Lord denounced. A holy person just did not wed anyone of a lower status.

So she would marry this man for her father, because he already dealt with one loss, and he did not need to deal with another. After setting her mind to that resolution she looked back up at him with a tight smile on her face. They hadn't exchanged words for a long tense moment so maybe it would be best for her to initiate conversation.

"Prince Yokoshima-"

"Silence. I do not wish to hear your voice." He stated coldly, interrupting her in mid-sentence. Kagome merely nodded slowly before turning to gaze out of the window. It was a lost cause. An undeniably lost cause. What was the point of marrying someone if they couldn't even bare to hear their spouses voice?

But she had to try. It was for her father.

"If you'll forgive me-"

"I thought I told you to stay silent." He said glaring down at her. She merely nodded, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes.

'He must really hate me, but why? It's not like we weren't friends before.'

Another long moment of silence passed with Kagome fidgeting impatiently, absolutely hating this uncomfortable silence. It slightly reminded her of when she was with the Emperor himself. She snuck another glance at the Prince and with a painful realization came to terms with the fact that he was the Emperor's son, and no longer her friend.

He possessed that same cold façade, the same grim face, and those frigid uninviting eyes. Did becoming and Emperor really do that to someone? If so then, would that happen if she became Empress? Would she lose the exuberance that she possessed? Would she suddenly bow down and accept everything that the laws threw at her? And what would happen if she had to face some of the challenges that came with running a country such as assisting in running the country?

She was very aware of the panic that suddenly decided to bubble up inside of her. She never had any schooling in how to run a country and make decisions. If she was not able to get a proper score on her sums exams then how was she supposed to be able to know which decisions would be proper for her country?

'That's what my advisors are for.' She thought to herself bitterly. Sighing loudly (and to the Prince's disappointment) she shifted until she was sitting in a comfortable position. Glancing back up at the Prince (who was still watching her with a disapproving gaze) she decided that she would ignore any protests he might send her way and try to get to know him - again. After all she did not pay attention to what her advisors said so she could simply ask him.

"Prince Yokoshima-"

"I do not know how many times I must tell you this, but I do not wish to hear your voice so stay silent." He retorted, his eyes blazing. That sight alone made Kagome want to shrink back into nothingness, but she would not. She had to go through with what she wanted to ask, and she would. It didn't matter what kind of punishment would ensue afterwards she just had to get the answer to one question.

"Forgive me, but I just want to ask you a question." She said in a hurried rush. She couldn't afford to have him interrupt her once again. The Prince glared at her harshly, wishing that he could simply wrap his hands around her throat or beat some sense into her. She just did not seem to be able to get it through her head that he did not want to talk to her. Let alone look at her. But Kagome persisted, and she wouldn't stop until it was answered.

"One question is all you get."

"Thank you!" Kagome replied bowing her head with renewed respect. After all, if he were taking the time to actually listen to her than he couldn't be all that bad, and then she would be able to actually marry him without problems.

"Well since we are to be married and you are to be Emperor, I was just wondering if I am supposed to help you make any decisions regarding the Lands or anything like that." Prince Yokoshima studied her dubiously before giving her another one of his harsh glares.

"I seriously doubt that the council would even think of asking a deranged girl such as yourself for an opinion on anything regarding these Lands."

"Deranged?" Kagome asked suddenly, her voice quivering slightly from anger. He looked at her once again his eyes hardening and a look of distaste appearing on his face.

"I thought I only gave you permission for one question."

"I don't care! Why are you being so rude to me? I could have sworn we were friends in our previous lives." Kagome retorted, hating the fact that he could even find joy in hurting her feelings.

"We were never friends to begin with. So I suggest that you release that simplistic fantasy of us ever being friends and learn your place." Kagome's fisted her hands in her dress, her knuckles turning stark white. She could feel the prickling sensation behind her eyes alerting her of the fact that tears wanted to be released. Kagome did not understand why that simple fact was such a stab to her pride but it was. How could someone get so much enjoyment out of being so cruel?

It was as if he was not even hearing himself; either that or it did not even faze him. She had remembered him as being a kind, loving young man before, full of smiles and laughter, and never afraid to do what others didn't expect. They had been best friends for four entire years and now - now that had been shattered all because he had duties to withhold.

That fantasy that she had of them ever becoming friends again shattered in that single instant. She knew that it was an impossible thing to ever ask of him because now - now he was immune to the concept of friendship. He had just changed so much in the span of 7 years, and she just couldn't bare it. She knew that she wouldn't be able to marry him. She couldn't marry him. And before she announced that, she had to let him know how she felt - otherwise, her pride would remain wounded and she wouldn't be able to live with that.

"I don't understand what happened when we stopped being friends, but it is to be said that you have become the most chauvinist bastard that I have ever-"

A sharp jolt of pain made it's way through Kagome's face, fading into a numbing sensation. Holding back tears she lifted her hand to her reddened cheek touching it gingerly. What exactly had happened? She knew that she hadn't been expecting him to slap her, not in the least. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she cupped her stinging cheek, looking up at the Prince sadly. Did he honestly hate her that much?

"You will learn to hold your tongue in my presence. Do I make myself clear?" He bit out harshly, just as the door to his sleeping chambers opened. Kagome and Prince Yokoshima both turned towards the door, Kagome's hand still to her cheek and a dazed expression on her face. She came face to face with the Emperor, whom was smirking at Kagome quite arrogantly.

"What a pleasant surprise Lady Kagome, oh and Naraku," he said turning to his son, " your advisors and Lord Higurashi wish to speak to you about the wedding." He merely nodded slowly before getting up and leaving the room with his father.

And Kagome finally let her tears fall. And as much as she did not want to be in his presence, as much as she wished she never had to marry him - she knew that she had to. Because it would be a blow to her pride if she let him get the upper hand. But that wasn't the only reason. She had to remember; and it would be the only reason that would strengthen her resolve.

She had to remember that - that she was doing this for her father.